50 DORSET SEVENTEENTH CENTURY TOKENS. 



is a curious fact that not one of them bears the name of Charles, 

 and only one of them the name of James that of James Studley, 

 of Weymouth. 



Though some, no doubt, of the Dorset tokens afford specimens of 

 originality in design and execution, the great bulk of them does 

 not appear to differ much from their fellows in other counties; 

 consisting principally of private issues by tradesmen with their own 

 names ; their initials and those of their wives ; their private marks 

 and signs; and the arms of such of the great civic companies as 

 would tend to show the various callings of the issuers. 



Of these last the Grocer's Arms head the list by a large majority, 

 appearing some two dozen times, with the Mercer's next with about 

 half that quantity. These two callings seem to be far in excess of 

 any of the others, clearly denoting what were the most common 

 and popular trades amongst Dorset folk at that time ; whilst there 

 are some half-dozen instances of what may be termed tavern signs 

 symbols of a trade which at all events has not decreased in 

 popularity at the present day. The instances where the issuers 

 have borne their private arms are rare, being only met with in the 

 tokens of Edward Harvey, of Corfe Castle ; Simon Eyre, of 

 Dorchester ; Christopher Ware, of Shaftesbury ; John Whetcombe, 

 of Sherborne ; and Robert Ekins, of Wimborne. The occupations 

 of the various issuers, if we may judge from the symbols adopted, 

 represent almost every imaginable calling, from a chandler to that 

 of a warden of the King's School at Sherborne, in the person of 

 John Whetcombe, of that town. 



There are a few individual peculiarities existing in some of the 

 tokens that are perhaps worth mentioning here. For instance, in 

 that of Thomas Bagg, of Bridport, the name of the issuer, instead 

 of being in the form of the usual legend, round the inner edge of 

 the token, is in three straight lines across the field. This is 

 the only token in Dorset so treated. Another unusual treat- 

 ment appears in that of John Pitman, of Sherborne, in which 

 the name of the county is given, instead, or without the addition, 

 of that of any town or place in it. This, again, is the only one so 



